Bill Owens on Education

Republican CO Governor

Teacher merit pay; student standards; smaller class sizes

Because we have demanded excellence, Colorado’s teachers are today preparing our children to reach the highest academic standards in history. I have proposed teacher pay incentives that would reward exemplary teachers with merit pay bonuses, while
offering recruitment bonuses to encourage our best teachers to teach in challenged schools.

On the critical issue of reducing class size, [I propose] that, over the next decade, schools use new funding first to reduce K-3 class size to 17 students.

Source: State of the State Address to Colorado legislature
Jan 11, 2001